"Loud and Fast"

That would be a five year old's synopsis of his first NASCAR event. Loud and Fast.

Rick happened to mention one day at work that Seth enjoyed watching the NASCAR races on TV. The secretary at his work, Carol, heard this and offered him some tickets for that weekends truck races. How awesome is that? Rick kept it a secret from Seth all week, until the day of the race. Seth was so excited!
I was worried that he would get bored or tired because they had to drive a couple of hours to get there, and it was pretty hot. I thought he wouldn't last the whole 3 hours. I'm not sure if it was the adrenaline rush or the sugar high...but he did just fine!
Rick took our old digital camera, so he had a hard time catching a car in the photo...but here's an idea of what they were watching...


The victory burn out:
They had a great time. They were grateful for ear plugs. They got some guy time. They came home very tired. They loved it. I think they're hooked.
Thanks Carol, for letting my guys get some bonding time!

This Cowboy Wears Flip Flops

It was Cowboy Day in Seth's class a week or so ago, and this is the outfit we threw together. His cowboy boots no longer fit (sad sad) and this is what he came up with as a replacement. Gotta love it.
I did NOT tell him to pretend to shoot the camera. That's all him.
I think I'll mosey on off to bed now.

Aspirations in Soccer

Season 1, Sept 2007: The Mud BallSeason 2, Sept 2009: The Mud PuddleThe last picture was taken after the game...not during the game, to be fair. But this was after she had taken little detours throughout the game to route her directly THROUGH the puddle. She was already filthy, so I figured, "why not?!" and let her jump right in.

She does seem to be enjoying soccer more this time, and she does run after the ball and play the game. So, good job, Hannah. I just hesitate to imagine what might be next in the mud cycle.

Soccer.

Orange Slices. Uniforms. Last minute scrambles for shin guards and cleats. Victory dances. Sideline meltdowns. Frozen water bottles. Mid-week practices. Blue Bunnies. Orange Bombers. Camp chairs. Telephoto lens. High fives. Human tunnels. Raspy cheer voices. Team photos. Trophies. Half-time snacks. Grass fights. Team cheers. New coaches. Sunburns. Huge kicks. Teamwork.

Bring it on.

More from the Little Trip

On Saturday, we went to Temple Square. We met A and S there, and enjoyed a couple of hours walking around the grounds and touring the visitor's center and the children's section of the church history museum.

This is the first real "family picture" we have with Cru in it. Seth's looking a little goofy, and Katy looks like she's confused, but we take what we can get. It's like trying to hit four moving targets with one bullet.

This picture cracks me up because I can still hear her yelling "yet me iiiiiiin" over and over. I hope there's a pretty good sound proof barrier there.

This is a classic example of why you don't take pictures and talk on the phone at the same time...just a little crooked, right?
Loved this pic of A and S. She was still trying to get him situated, but I snapped it before she was ready...and I love it.
Katy's favorite part of the museum was the baby nursery they had set up. In fact, she hardly left that area the entire time we were there.
Cru's favorite part was sitting and looking cute while his siblings dawdled.
Seth enjoyed the temple building station...what a cool temple he built, right?
Hannah put on the angel outfit from the nativity dress-ups and was the "Angel Nurse". Only you, Hannah.
Then we moved onto the Planetarium, where we were met by Heather and kids. Jax and Seth played with their alien guys on the surface of the moon.
Heather and Bria checking out one of the exhibits.
Hannah would have stood there all day, if I hadn't forced her off of it. It showed how much you would weigh on the other planets, and also what would happen to you if you were dropped off there. For example, the density in the air would smash you flat, or you would be killed immediately by poisonous gases. She LOVED it.
Rick took this picture of Hannah reading on the moon. So funny.
The next day was the big day for Baby S. All of Rick's family was there for the blessing, and so we snagged a big family picture outside afterward.
Funny story on these skirts. After I made Katy's first market skirt, Heather said that she wanted one for Bria. So I told her to buy some fabric and I would make her one. She sent the fabric down with someone, and in the meantime I had bought some more fabric to make Katy another skirt. Turns out, 300 miles apart, we had bought the same fabric! So I made all four girls skirts. I had visions of these adorable pictures of the girls...but after an hour and a half of church and group photos, they were less than cooperative. This is the best I got.
But they were cute.

Little S. Such a stud!
All sorts of handsome in his little suit.
Here is a shot of all the cousins born this year. You can tell how Ella felt about being boy trapped. Poor girl. She will be tough, at least.
And finally, this cutie boy. What a tease!
Up next...soccer pictures.

A Little Trip

Last weekend we took a little mini vacation. We headed up north for little Soren's blessing, but took the opportunity to head up a couple of days early and do some fun stuff. We packed a lot into our weekend, and were all exhausted. Here is a look at our first day.

The Dinosaur Park: Basically it's a bunch of dinosaur models nestled into a forest at the mouth of a canyon. All the dinosaurs are those that once roamed this area...so the kids thought that was pretty cool.

Hannah referred to this dinosaur as her "sister." She collected acorns for it's food, and lovingly dusted the sand off it. She didn't want to leave it. So she asked if I would take a picture, so she could always remember her prehistoric sister.Katy refused to call them dinosaurs. She kept saying they were dragons. For example, she would say, "Mom...those dragons scare me!" We tried to get her to say dinosaur, but she refused! She didn't like the sounds they had playing throughout the park...they sounded like dinosaurs tromping through the trees, roaring, and echoing footsteps. We had to keep telling her that they wouldn't get her because they were stuck. She finally got to where she would wander a little bit. When we got under this big guy she tried to tickle its belly.
Rick got this cute shot of Katy coming down the slide. She loved the play area the most. Can you tell it was HOT? Her face was so red! My favorite is the angle on the cow boots. They look huge, and are so obviously on the wrong feet.Cru was thrilled to just sit in the sand. It was a new experience for him. He loved it.
Even when he face planted it...
I love Katy's face here. She was still not so sure...
Um, Hannah...don't look now, but a Tyrannosaurus is about to eat you...
Kate also loved the drinking fountain.
Then we headed to the Aerospace Museum. This was sort of a spur of the moment stop. We passed the exit on our way to the Dinosaur Museum, and when we had some extra time, we decided to stop on the way back. Rick, being a pilot himself, is fascinated with all things aeronautic, and we never really do things just because Daddy wants to. It's usually the other way around. So we stopped. It was very cool. We didn't have a lot of time before the military base closed, so we had to hurry through.
A gyro. I think.

Hannah, in the ejection seat. Now only if we'd had one of those in the car during the 6 hour drive up there! Just kidding. Mostly.
More from the other two days of our trip later.

Six Months Old

Another month has flown by and somehow my baby is six months old. He is such a sweet heart. I can't get enough of his two-toothy smiles, and belly laughs. He is beginning that amazing stage of discovery where everything is new and wonderful, and must belong in the mouth. He actually plays with toys now...spinning things, or shaking them. He is so much more aware of what is going on around him. He has decided that he doesn't like being left alone. He wants to be in the room where the rest of us are. He is learning to make his voice heard, though he is still an easy going baby. He loves when his siblings play with him. Some favorite games are when Katy plays pat-a-cake with his feet...when Seth plays "Where's Cruzer?" and when Hannah tickles him. He is at such a grabby stage. No plate of food is safe if Cru is on your lap. No lock of hair is safe, either. He has also discovered Daddy's glasses. He is learning new noises all the time, and will try to imitate sounds and noises that you make...like blowing raspberries back at you. He pushed two teeth through the 14th and 16th of last month...and seems to be working on some more. At least I hope that is what will account for the constant stream of drool. He is liking solid foods, though he's never terribly excited at the taste of the first bite. He definitely shows a preference for the freshly pureed foods over the bottled ones. He continues to be Tubby McTubberpants, which we love. Especially because it won't last long. He is already moving from a sitting position up onto his hands, and he scoots himself around on the floor. Once he starts moving for real, I'm sure the weight gain will slow. We sure love this little bald dude.

This next one is for those of you "naysayers" who didn't believe that Chunky Buns could touch his own toes. In fact, holding onto his own feet is a favorite passtime of his.

Some things we love about Cru at six months:

• his two-tooth smile (though if he uses those teeth to bite me one more time, he may be done nursing)
• his blue eyes
• his expressive eye brows
• the way he squints when he grins
• his inquisitive nature
• the way he rarely cries when he falls over...he just rolls over and makes the best of it...
• how he entertains himself by making noises
• how he wakes up from naps and just lays in his crib and "plays" with his blanket and coos
• his pouty lip
• how he bounces when he gets excited
• his fake cough
• how he strokes my face when he's nursing
• the way he laughs at his siblings
• his abundance of fat rolls

Love you, Cruey!

The saddest thing in the world...

Cru has never been much of a crier. Don't get me wrong...this is not a complaint. It leads me into the video...

When Cru was born, there was no classic scene of the doctor holding up the baby...and it giving forth it's first cry. Cru would not cry. He barely moaned. It sent me into a bit of a panic. I spent the first 20 minutes of his life trying to get him to cry. He was fine. There was nothing wrong with him (Respiratory came in and checked). He simply wasn't a crier. He grunted a bit, and would let out a whimper every now and again to let me know he was hungry...but it took quite a long time before we heard his real true cry.

Still, nearly six months later, it is not common for him to cry. He recently got over being sick. The first day of his fever he cried more in the space of 8 hours than he had his entire five months prior. Poor little dude.

OK...I'm getting to the point. We finally found something that will.consistently.without fail.make. Cru.cry.

Enjoy...

It's just too sad, we can't do it to him anymore. That's why I got it on video...so that anyone who wants to see it can watch it here. I won't do it to him anymore. It's heartbreaking. Albeit hilarious. I told you he didn't like to be moo-ed at.

I promise...as soon as I turned off the camera, I picked him up and gave him some serious hugs.

Wordless Wednesday (though I admit I cheated, a little...)